RIO DE JANEIRO: The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) has asked world football governing body FIFA to postpone the start of the region’s 2022 World Cup qualifying tournament due to coronavirus fears.
CONMEBOL said each of its 10 member federations are opposed to staging the first two match days on March 26, 27 and 31, as scheduled.
“Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela – have requested … to postpone the start of the qualifiers for the Qatar 2022 World Cup,” CONMEBOL said in a statement on Wednesday.
CONMEBOL said many players would be placed in quarantine upon arriving in their respective countries, leaving them unavailable to take part in the matches.
Five-time World Cup winners Brazil are due to host Bolivia and travel to Peru in their opening qualifiers while two-time champions Argentina are scheduled to host Ecuador before travelling to Bolivia.
address any impact this may have on athlete eligibility for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The Fed Cup Play-offs, due to take place on April 17-18 in eight locations around the world, have also been postponed and alternative dates will be announced at a later date.
“The ITF COVID-19 Advisory Group will continue to monitor the situation closely and further decisions will be based on the facts, official data and expert advice,” said ITF president David Haggerty.
